Canary island and classical culture

CANARY ISLANDS AND CLASSICAL CULTURE

IES TOMÁS DE IRIARTE. 2010-2011

The ancient Greeks called the world they knew Oikouméne and they thought of it as a big island surrounded by the OCEAN river

At the ends of the known world ancient Greeks put a number of towns and mythical people who possessed wonderful qualities and physical features (Gorgons, Amazons)

Medusa, one of the tree Gorgons Penthesilea, an Amazonian queen

They also put inaccessible and fantastic places as the home of gods and dead people, the island of Geryon or the Garden of the Hesperides

The geographical position of our islands, at the end of the known world, along with the climate and nature, made our territory an ideal area to place many myths and legends like…

It was the residence of heroes and souls after their death as Achilles and Menelaus. These places had beautiful meadows, rich fruit and flowers, fresh air, no extreme winters and summers. It was a life of luxury

ELYSIAN FIELDS AND ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED

FORTUNATAE INSULAE

Some Latin authors used this expression to describe our islands. One of them, Pliny the Elder, was here and called Ninguaria a large island with a mountain always covered with snow

He also said that at Junonia there was a roque whose shape reminded the Roman temples of the goddess Juno, and hence its name. Another island, Capraria, had huge lizards. In Canaria there were plenty of palm trees and big dogs.

Many people believe that the Canary Islands come from the name of this island, CANARIA, which comes from the Latin word can which means 'dog'. Current historians claim the name comes from a Berber tribe, the CANARII, who lived at the north of Morocco and traveled by sea to our islands

THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDESThe Greek hero Herakles tried to pick three golden apples in a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world. He was attacked by a dragon but fought back. For every drop of the dragon’s blood on the ground, a small tree began to grow. This tree is our famous DRAGO, as the one in Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife. The mythical garden was in la OROtava

ATLANTIS ISLANDThe Greek philosopher Plato, in his works Timaeus and Critias, tells a story of a big island inhabited by a powerful and warlike people who invaded Europe and was defeated only by the Greeks

After the defeat, the island sank and its highest parts were left out of water. Some people think that the Atlantic Ocean islands, including the Canary Islands, are remnants of this large sunken island.

St. BRENDAN’S ISLANDIn the fifth century an Irish monk named St. Brendan traveled to our islands in search of paradise. He found an island and after celebrating a mass, the island itself turned out to be a sleeping whale. The whale awoke and began swimming through the sea with the monk on top of it.

The people of Canary Island saw an island moving in the sea, which appeared and disappeared. It was a phantom island. They call it ’San Borondón’ and it has become the ’eighth Canary Island’.